1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air conditioning units, and specifically to an air conditioning unit for vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many vintage vehicles are equipped with heaters, but lack air conditioning units for cooling the interior of the vehicle. Even many new vehicles lack cooling capabilities. The owners of these vehicles frequently live in climates which are quite uncomfortable without air conditioning. Many retrofit air conditioning units exist for placement inside vehicles for selective heating or cooling of the interior of the vehicle.
It is important that the heating and cooling unit be as small as possible to minimize the space requirement of the retrofit heating-cooling unit, since maximizing vehicle interior space is one overriding design criteria for vehicles.
It is also important that blown air be directed through as few turns as possible, since each turn in a heating or cooling system diminishes the velocity at which the heated or cooled air is delivered. In vehicles with large interior space, high air speed is important in ensuring that the entire vehicle interior is adequately heated or cooled.